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In his thought-provoking essay “Reclaiming St. Patrick’s Day,” Christianity Today‘s Ted Olsen talks about how Christians could emphasize the day by highlighting issues related to the great saint (e.g. fighting human trafficking, celebrating multi-ethnic communities and incarnational ministry). Here’s how it begins:
Before we look at the journalistic essay that has me so hot and bothered, let us pause and read two crucial passages in a document that used to be dear to the heart of old-fashioned liberals — the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This cornerstone of human-rights work was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948.
I’m guessing most reporters hate writing headlines. Your stories are often so nuanced or complex that no one can possibly condense it down to a few words. We’ve been reading several stories related to Pope Benedict XVI’s connections to Peter Hullermann, a priest who had been convicted in 1986 of sexually abusing minors, and we’ve been taking special notice of whether the headlines and the story make the appropriate ties.
Apparently I wasn’t the only Washington Post reader who thought the paper’s coverage of same-sex marriage last week was a bit lopsided. I noticed one of the reader questions posed in an on-line chat to the Post‘s Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli mentioned it as well:
For anyone who doubts the powerful role of religion in people’s lives, consider the case of Chris Pollock.
Last week, Sarah looked at media coverage of Jihad Jane, the Pennsylvania woman who was arrested in a terrorism plot case. And now we learn of Jihad Jamie, another American woman involved in the same alleged plot. The early coverage of Jane left unanswered major questions about how she converted to Islam. Let’s look at the coverage of Jamie Paulin-Ramirez.
There’s a viral video out there that doesn’t involve Charlie biting his brother’s finger, Ok Go’s Rube Goldberg project, or a man on a horse. No, this one is much more serious. Angie Jackson’s video of having an abortion (right) has received more than 140,000 hits since she posted it a few weeks ago.
I’ve let this story percolate for a little while. Still, the story of the three NorCal cousins accused of shooting a man they believed to be gay with a BB gun has gotten only touch-and-go coverage, mainly from the San Francisco Chronicle and the Associated Press.
Yes, your GetReligionistas did see that highly provocative piece in USA Today by Rod “friend of this blog” Dreher, the essay that began with this double-deck statement:
